Following a Public Inquiry held in Cambridge, the Traffic
Commissioner for the East of England, Richard Turfitt, has
curtailed the operator licence held by Ashwood Travel Ltd and
considered the repute of former transport manager, Murphy.
The inquiry examined concerns about the operator's compliance on
a variety of issues, including vehicle maintenance, driver hours,
tachograph use, and governance arrangements. One of the issues
considered was the operator's compliance with the Public Service
Vehicles (Open Data) (England) Regulations 2020, which require
operators of registered local bus services in England (outside
London) to publish open data on timetables, fares, and vehicle
locations. These obligations stem from the Bus Services Act 2017,
and full compliance has been mandatory since 7 January 2023. The
Office of the Traffic Commissioner contacted all relevant
operators six times between February 2021 and June 2022.
The operator, Ashwood Travel Ltd, was individually alerted to the
BODS requirements by the Office of the Traffic Commissioner in
June 2024. initially responded,
claiming some services were private and not subject to BODS.
Under current regulations, closed school services are not
automatically exempt, and operators are required to assess and
comply with BODS obligations as set out in the legislation.
Despite repeated reminders in June, September, and October 2024,
the operator failed to provide the required data.
After Mr Murphy's departure, Mrs Baker, one of the directors, and
later Mr Raja, the new transport manager, took steps to rectify
the situation, but compliance was significantly delayed. By
September 2025, the operator had registered routes and was
providing timetable and vehicle location data via BODS.
The inquiry also heard that internal disputes between directors
had undermined governance and compliance. Evidence highlighted
instability in the company's management structure and failures in
oversight of transport operations. Mr Murphy admitted he had not
fulfilled his statutory duties and invited the Commissioner to
make an adverse finding against his repute.
Commissioner Turfitt said “I considered the appropriate approach
to an operator which was largely compliant by the date of the
Public Inquiry. I balanced the fact that this was the first
Public Inquiry and the many positive gains… following the
appointment of Mr Raja against the repeated breach of conditions
which, in effect, misled me to a point where the trust I had in
this operator was seriously undermined. Repute is severely
tarnished by these circumstances.”
Ultimately, while compliance was achieved by the time of the
inquiry, historic failings led to a curtailment of the licence by
three vehicles for two weeks from 18 December 2025 as a deterrent
and Mr Murphy has been disqualified from relying on his
Certificate of Professional Competence unless and until he can
demonstrate capability to a Traffic Commissioner.
For full details of the decision, visit the
Traffic Commissioner
Regulatory Decisions page
